A Living Nightmare
by Virals6SharpShooter
Summary: MURDER! Tory and the rest of the pack can't believe yet another death has occurred at the LIRI. But when Tory's father, Kit, becomes a target she certainly gets thrown a bone. Not to mention she has to deal with Madison suddenly taking an interest in Ben. Read and find out what the Virals' next move is. THIS STORY WILL BE REWRITTEN SOON. READ WHILE YOU CAN.
1. Prologue

**Hey it's your one and only Virals6SharpShooter with a new story! My crossover is taking a seat on the sidelines for a bit. just until I gain more writing experience. That way I don't blow it. But let's cut to the chase. DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Virals or anything associated. All rights belong to Kathy Reichs. **

Tory

_Oo! Oo! REEEEEE!_

Monkeys screeched over head but I could care less. Everything but the sound of my feet hitting foliage drifted away. Until the crack of a gun broke through the night air.

_CRACK! CRACK!_

More monkey screeches. Then a new sound.

_CRA—CRA! SNAP!_

A branch came crashing down in front of my path. I never stopped. I jumped. I cleared the obstacle with ease.

Again the gun shots rang out.

All I could hear was the blood pounding in my ears. The wind rushing past. The occasional terrified monkey howl. And my feet beating out the quick rhythm of a getaway.

Thoughts swirled around in my head like a cyclone. Spitting them out and slamming them into the sides of my head causing a headache to errupt.

_Are the boys alright? They were behind me! Oh God I hope that wasn't Hi that got shot. Did _any_ of them get shot? Oh hell where's Sewee?_

I grit my teeth _forcing_ my panic to stay at bay.

_We will get out of this. We always do. We're _Virals.

I thundered on. My _flare_ was giving me extra strength.

My breath was heavy but not from exhaustion. From fear. But still I pushed on.

Everything looked the same. I thought I'd never get out. I would never see the boys again. I'd—

_SLAM!_

I toppled over as the body of the mystery person and myself rolled through the underbrush.

We finally stopped. I realized a few things in a mere split second.

One, I—unfortunately—ended up underneath the person.

Two, said person clamped their hand firmly over my mouth.

Lastly, I realized the person was _Ben_.

Oh thank the Heavens above!

He rolled off me and together we dove for cover in the shadows being cast by the moonlight.

"Where are the others?"

My voice, to any other person would not have been heard. But with my packs enhanced abilities, our hearing was razor sharp. We could hear the flap of a butterfly's wings.

Ben turned to me, eyes glowing a golden sapphire. "I don't know. I think they're together. I know I saw Shelton a ways back. He was running in _Sewee's_ direction."

I nodded. My eyes locked with Ben's. Staying here was too dangerous. We needed to move. _Now_.

Fast as lightning yet silent as the air around us we shot off into the night. Not daring to leave the other's side.

Our golden eyes probed the darkness, picking out a path for our feet to forge.

At last we broke through the trees and hit beach. About fifty yards off, we could see _Sewee_ bobbing in the tide.

Together we tore down the beach, kicking up sand behind us.

Ben vaulted the rail and slid behind the controls. Me right behind.

"Oh my God! You're alive!" A voice hissed.

I whirled around and was met with two other pairs of golden irises.

"Shelton! Hiram! Holy shit! You scared me!" I hugged them both, and Ben fired _Sewee's_ engine to life. Not missing a beat as he speed away.

We were safely off Loggerhead. Smoke billowed from the LIRI's direction. None of us had been prepared for the bomb.

Now to find answers to our questions.

Who had tried to blow my father's office apart.

And why?

**HA! Cliffy! Don't freak though! I'll add to it, promise! But please review! I got better from my last fic didn't I? The romance is in this one, just more natural and NOT entirely the main focus. And Jason is less of a dick and more Jason-like. Okay! Write you guys soon! **


	2. Chapter 1

**And I'm back! Miss me? Hope you know that was a Prologue. And THIS is chapter 1. Enjoy! DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own the Virals characters, plot, etc. All rights belong to Kathy Reichs.**

Tory:

This entire fiasco started with a typical Saturday. Well as typical as it gets when you sneak off to a secret bunker to meet up with your friends who happen to be human-wolf hybrids like yourself.

Wait.

Too fast.

Alright, here's the deal. About a year ago my friends and I got slammed with a designer virus conjured up by the late Dr. Marcus E. Karsten. He had kidnapped Cooper, the youngest wolfpup of Whisper. The local wolf of Loggerhead. She and her pack were the only other known inhabitants besides the rhesus monkey colonies on Loggerhead Island.

The island housed a research institute known as Loggerhead Island Research Institute. But I prefer LIRI. It was a veterinary clinic that focused on marine life. But it was _only_ veterinary research that went down there. That's why Karsten's little science project was top secret. Serious hush, hush.

The old goat was mixing canine parvovirus with the human strand known as Parvovirus B-19 for big bucks. Mixed together, it was not only contagious to dogs, but humans too. Unfortunately we didn't know that when we busted Coop out. So you guessed it, we got infected.

Karsten died in an attempt to save us from his mystery employer's goons. We later found out, while on the trail of a forty-year-old murder mystery, the employer was Hollis Claybourne. Multimillionaire businessman and father of Bolton Preps Golden Boy, Chance Claybourne.

After everything died down, my friends and I were able to look into our "powers". We call them _flares._ The virus got to our DNA and fused itself into it, changing us forever.

We never told our parents. For one, we never knew how. Second, we didn't want to risk getting strapped to a sterile lab table to be prodded with needles or dissected.

It's the biggest secret of our lives and we plan to keep it.

So as far as typical Saturdays go on Morris Island, mine was looking to be normal. I made my way down the unseen path that I'd come to memorize. walking past boulders. Leaping fallen branches. Weaving through dunes.

After about a half hour's walk I could faintly make out our bunker. A few more yards and ducking around some bush cover, I was standing in front of the entrance. It was actually our second bunker. The first one being lost in the tousle between Karsten and Claybourne's goons.

I could hear voices inside.

Looks like the guys were here already.

Shelton Devers, Hiram Stolowitski, Ben Blue. All boys. Complete smartasses. And my best friends.

I ducked inside and took in the scene.

Ben was slouching against the couch along the far wall looking like, well, Ben. Sullen and moody as hell. He had coppery tanned skin, raven black hair, and dark chocolate brown eyes that, when he looked into yours, could bore into your soul. He was average height and muscular. Not a bit of fat on him.

He claims to be descended from the old Sewee Indian tribe. Of course, the tribe was absorbed into the Catawba tribe a century ago, but I wouldn't argue that fact with Ben. He's got a serious temper. Like I said. Moody as hell.

I noticed Shelton waving his phone in a scowling Hiram's face.

Shelton was our one man geek squad. Give him any electronic gadget, puzzle, or anything with numbers, and he can crack it. He's also pretty handy with a lock pick. I've come to appreciate that handy skill from past experience.

Shelton had chocolate brown skin like his African-American father but his high cheek bones and eyelids speak for his Japanese mother.

He dressed the typical "geek" part. Polo shirt, suspenders, jeans, and thick black glasses. Not to mention he had a serious fear of creepy-crawlies, was a little on the shorter side while being skinny, and was not the most athletic person.

Although the same could be said for Hiram Stolowitski. Hi was by no means the "athletic" type. Unlike Shelton, he was not skinny. But he wasn't fat either. Maybe...Husky? But what he lacked in athletic ability he certainly made up for in personality and style.

Hi's usual attire consisted of flashy floral print shirts and contrasting shorts. You could never lose him in a crowd, that's for sure.

To match his flashy wardrobe, Hi armed himself with sarcasm and witty remarks. He was without question the master of sarcasm. When we first met, I out witted Hi, earning his permanent respect. That was just one of the reasons the boys accepted me right off the hop.

Walking further into the bunker I cleared my throat and crossed my arms. The three of them looked up for a second before Hi and Shelton were back at it. Whatever _it_ was.

Ben's attention stayed with me though. I arched an eyebrow at him. He rolled his eyes and motioned for me to listen to their nonsense. Did I mention Ben was the quiet type too? A man of many words that one. He almost never speaks but when he does, he doesn't waste his breath.

I sighed and switched my focus to the other two. Shelton was looking exasperated and Hi looked offended.

"..Is _so_ logical!" Hi shouted.

"That is—by far—the weakest argument I have ever heard. There's no logic to it at all! Hi for the _last time_. Aliens. Are. Not. Real!" Shelton threw his arms in the air.

"And how do you know that for a fact, Mr. Logic?" Hi countered.

Once again Shelton shoved his phone in Hi's face. "Because the Internet gives effective and reliably intell suggesting crop circles are a hoax used to make farmers rich! What more do you want?" Shelton's voice was about an octave away from shrill.

Slapping the phone away, Hi opened his mouth to give some retort but I swiftly cut him off.

"O-kay," I said holding up my hand. "As much as I would _love_ to sit here and listen to you two bicker all day—what is this about?"

Shelton spoke up. " Well, Hiram here has once again resurrected the old argument of the possibility of alien life."

I arched an eyebrow at Hi.

"What?" He asked incredulously. "It's a possibility!"

I shook my head. "Alright boys. Why don't we all take a step back and let the testosterone levels recede a bit, shall we?"

Shelton's eyes dropped to the floor as a blush crept onto his face. He began tugging on his earlobe. From across the room I saw Ben's head drop and his shoulders shaking from silent laughter. My eyes darted to Hi and I nearly laughed out loud from the look on his face.

Pure horror was painted across his face. His chestnut brown eyes opened wide. His mouth opened and closed. He resembled a fish.

"What?" I asked laughter barely contained.

He closed his eyes. "You did _not_ just say that!" he groaned.

I smirked. "What? You mean testosterone?"

"Would you stop with the T word?" He begged.

By now Ben was sprawled across the couch clutching his sides. Shelton was still tugging his earlobe but had a smile playing on his lips.

I looked at Hi, and he met my gaze.

"Hiram you big baby!" I said still smirking. "Grow up! It's only tes-tos-ter-one."

With each syllable, Hi's face registered more horror. Like he couldn't believe I would dare say that word. It only bothered him because I was a girl.

He clamped his hands over his ears. "Oh my poor virgin ears!" He wailed. "Just stop already!"

I walked over and flicked him in the nose.

"Ow!" he yelped.

"You are so five sometimes, you know that? Now. Who wants to take a trip to Loggerhead?" I asked.

Shelton looked up at me wearily. Hi was shooting me a sideways glance as he massaged his nose.

Ben who had recovered voiced the unspoken thoughts. "You planning another break-in, Brennan?"

I shot them all a look. "It wasn't on my itinerary today, no."

They still looked unconvinced. I huffed.

"Guys, I swear, if I find a dog tag I'll chuck it into the Atlantic with my flare burning strong. And if the LIRI plans on shutting down anytime soon, I'll tie you all up, drop you on _Sewee,_ and we can all go live together as one happy pack on one of the other islands. Okay?"

Three wide grins.

five minutes later, _Sewee_ was speeding over the water towards Loggerhead Island.

**So whatcha think? Would I be wrong to assume I'll get some followers with this story? Don't forget to review and give me your thoughts!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Hiya guys! Hope you're liking this story. Review and tell me what you think. DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Virals characters, settings, etc. all rights belong to Kathy Reichs.**

* * *

Tory's POV:

In no time Ben had _Sewee_ speeding over the Atlantic waters towards Loggerhead. The salty spray leaving refreshingly cool droplets on my face. Far off on the horizon I could see the island taking shape. I loved it out here.

Loggerhead Island has lush dense foliage and some beautiful beaches. The whole island itself is shaped like a penguin. Where the penguins throat would be is a small clearing the boys and I nicknamed Y-7's Clearing. Named after the sweet little monkey that threw us that dog tag after attacking us. I kind of miss that psychotic primate.

Moving west along the belly of the penguin is Chili Beach; although it's also been called Dead Cat. Weird name I know but if you're ever out there on a windy day, you'll understand why they call it Dead Cat. Then there's Turtle beach. Heading to the eastern side of the island you'll find this eye catcher of a beach. Turtle is a stretch of white sand with a beautiful look out on the Atlantic ocean. The LIRI complex is situated a ways back from Turtle beach in the forest. The complex is the only place you'll find man-made structures. Anywhere outside the complex's fence is wild and untouched nature. The LIRI wants to be as invisible to the island as possible; not disturb the environment in the slightest.

In the south-eastern region is Tern Point. It's where the tail of the Penguin would be and is a bit of a hike from the docks. Tern Point has a plateau poking out from a rocky mountain face overlooking the majority of the island. A seriously killer view. The rest of the island is a lot of swampy marsh areas. Gator country.

* * *

Ben maneuvered _Sewee_ up to the dock as Shelton grabbed a mooring line. We all piled out and Hi made his usual trip to the bushes to empty his stomach. Ah yes, the Heaving Hi show. I wouldn't wish that sight on my worst enemy.

Ben shook his head. "I've said it before and I'll say it again. He's useless on boats."

"I don't think he can do cars either." Shelton said.

I rolled my eyes.

"Ben, do have water bottles on _Sewee_?" I asked.

"Yeah, in the cooler under the bench near the back." He jerked his thumb in the runabout's direction.

"Thanks!" I called over my shoulder.

I climbed in and pulled out the cooler, grabbing four water bottles. I closed it and hopped onto the docks jogging over to join the guys. Hi had made his way back looking a little less green.

"Here," I said handing him and the others a bottle. He took it gratefully.

"Thanks." He muttered, scalding half the water right there.

"Ok, so what are we doing?" Shelton asked.

The boys turned to me. Right, alpha and all.

"Uh..." Was my genius reply. "Why don't we go see if Turtle beach is available."

"Works for me." Shelton.

"As long as Tory doesn't make us go terracing around after some forty-year-old mystery that gets us shot at." Hi.

Ben slapped Hi in the back of the head and nodded his agreement.

"Dude, that _hurt_!" Hi whined.

Ben shrugged walking past him. "It was a slap in the head. It was supposed to hurt."

Hi pouted but trudged along with us through the forest. I had to laugh. I love my friends.

* * *

A half hour walk later we were standing on the soft white sand of Turtle Beach.

"Ahhh..." Hi breathed out a deep breath. "Smell that ocean air. Algae and fish poop!" He splayed his arms dramatically.

He and Shelton both started to crack up.

Ignoring them I looked out over the water.

"I love this island," I said. "It's beautiful and has such good memories."

Ben came to stand next to me. He looked out at the clear blue water then turned his head to look at me.

"It is." He agreed. "So are we practicing our flares?"

I gave him a wicked grin. "Oh yeah."

I closed my eyes and concentrated, trying to get angry. But I didn't have anything to get angry about. Well I didn't until...

I turned back to Ben and was about to say I couldn't flare when a muddy projectile nailed me in the side of the face.

I whirled around to the sound of laughter and saw Hi doubled over, clutching his sides. Shelton was laughing too but seemed a little tense. I stormed up to them wiping the mud of my face. I knew Ben was trying and failing not to laugh.

"What the hell!" I yelled. Then I dropped to my knees. The pain raced through me as I held my throbbing head.

**SNAP!**

I opened my now amber eyes. Hi stopped laughing and Shelton jumped back.

I smiled sweetly. "Thanks Hiram."

Then I jumped on him. He managed to squirm away, I took off after him. I caught up with ease and was about to grab him when he suddenly jumped ahead moving much faster than before.

_Looks like somebody got their flare going._

The chase was on.

I chased Hi down the length of the beach, both of us laughing like little kids. But Hi, even when we were flaring couldn't outrun me. He started to slow down and I sped up, tackling him. He fell face first in the sand and I sat on him.

Shelton and Ben soon caught up to us, both flaring. Shelton was soaked and dripping. I stifled a laugh. Looks like Shelton had the honor of helping Ben. They took one look at Hi's current state and started laughing.

"Alright, you got your laugh. Now get off Tory! You're heavier than you look!" Hi grumbled.

I stood up, pulling Hi with me. He brushed himself off and pulled off his shoes. He started walking towards the water.

"What are you doing?" Shelton called.

"Flaring underwater!"

When he was out far enough he dove under. We kicked off our shoes and waded out after him. I got knee deep before I stopped.

"Shoot. I'm not wearing a swim suit." I muttered.

"So? You'll dry."

I jumped sky high. Hiram had materialized right behind me and was smirking.

"Not funny, jerk!"

"No you're right. I was _hilarious_!"

He jumped back into the water before I could grab him. I shook my head and looked back at the water, the boys messing around. I sighed. Why waste a flare?

I waded out deeper then went under.

It was incredible!

I gave a kick at shot through the water. My golden eyes cut through the dark depths. I looked down and could see vibrant colours of corral twenty feet down. I saw fish swimming around in every direction.

I swam around some more and zeroed in on a pod of dolphins moving swiftly in search of lunch. I could see them with amazing clarity. It felt as if I were only a few feet away from them. I back peddled a bit and bumped into something. Or rather some_one_. I turned around to see Ben treading water.

I pointed to the pod. He looked, and smiled. I looked at Ben. His long black hair was floating up a little in the water, and his gold eyes were catching the light from the sun above the waves. I also noticed, not for the first time, how muscular he is. Defined muscle lay under deeply tanned skin.

_He's actually pretty cute._

Ben's eyes widened and he looked at me.

_Tory, I can hear you in my head! You're doing that telepathy thing again!_ I heard him say in my mind. Then I heard two other voices.

_Who's pretty cute? Were you thinking about your _boyfriend_? And I can hear you too._

_Tory has a boyfriend?_

I was sure my face was turning red. I glanced at Ben. He was looking at me funny, but otherwise seemed normal.

_No Hiram! I was talking about the dolphins, come and see. And what's that supposed to mean _Shelton_?_

Ben kept watching me, but thankfully I was saved by Hi swimming up to us. He grinned.

_Okay. Where're the dolphins?_ I heard his voice ask.

I pointed to the pod chasing after a school of fish. _Over there._

Hi looked. _Man! That is so cool! I can see them with crystal clarity! It's amazing we're the only ones who can do this!_

Shelton swam up next. _You guys know we've been under for five minutes?_

I stared at him in shock. We all exchanged a look and headed topside. My head broke the water first, then Ben, Shelton and Hi came up.

Suddenly I felt my flare die. I immediately became exhausted. The other Virals noticed my flare was gone and then theirs died too.

"Shoot!" Hi said before he slipped under and came back up spluttering.

Ben shook his head and blinked a couple times, scowling in concentration.

"We better get back to shore before one of us drowns." I said.

Three nods sealed the deal.

We started to swim back. Luckily we hadn't been too far out but it was still energy draining. We walked onto the beach sopping wet.

"What do you guys say we go look for Whisper and the pack? Coop's with them. Plus it'll give us some time to dry off." I looked at the boys.

"Okay, just let me get my shoes back on first. I'd rather not go trail blazing in bare feet thank you." Shelton said.

I slid my feet back into my converse as the others stood up.

"Tally ho, gents!" Hi marched into the trees the rest of us trailing behind. I stopped for a second, the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I turned around, looking down the beach. I got the weird feeling of being watched.

"Hey, you coming, Tor?" Shelton called me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah... coming," I said distractedly. I shook my head and walked back to the guys. It was probably nothing, but I was still alert.

We ventured on in search of my pet wolfdog, Coop, and his family. Hi kept cracking lame jokes while Ben and Shelton laughed and tried to shut him up. I laughed along with them but still couldn't shake that weird feeling. I'd learned to trust my gut from past experiences, and right now it told me something was watching us.

But what?

* * *

**Oh! What could it be?! You'll have to wait to find out! Read and review! I like getting feedback from you guys! Oh btw, I've nicknamed myself V6 or Virals6 just cause it's shorter than ViralsAvenger4ever. Feel free to call me whatever. Okay, write ya later!**

**-V6**


	4. Chapter 3

**Sorry updates took so long. Had to finish my other story and I got a cardboard cut. Those kill! Anyway! I'm here to bring you chapter 3! DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Virals characters, settings, plot, etc. All rights go to Kathy Reichs.**

* * *

Third Person POV:

The man sat crouched down in the sand. Waves crashed behind him. Despite the seventy-seven degree heat, he wore a long sleeve shirt and pants. Both a camouflage pattern.

He'd been told the four teenagers came out here a lot. He was to observe them.

He smiled to himself. His employer had paid generously for him to simply "babysit" them. He knew nothing about these kids but he didn't need to. At the end of the day, as long as fifty grand was being pumped into his bank account, the little twits could walk off a cliff for all he cared.

He had spotted their boat puttering along to this stupid island and followed behind undetected. He still had no idea why they liked it out here so much. Didn't they ever play video games and pig out on Cheetos like normal kids?

He shook his head. Unimportant shit he didn't need to worry about. He heard voices from further down the beach. Reaching into his bag he produced a pair of binoculars. Peering over the rock mound that hid him from sight, he locked onto the group.

He noticed the redhead chick was leading them with the muscular boy next to her. The chubby kid stopped and laughed at something with the nerdy African-American boy. Nothing exciting or worth reporting was happening.

Then Chubby threw some mud at Red which pissed her off. She chased him down the beach and disappeared.

Muscles and The Geek stayed behind. he watched as African-American slowly crept behind Muscles and kicked him hard in the ass. The kid toppled forward and face planted. He jumped up and grabbed the kid by his shirt collar.

The man smiled. _Someone's gonna get the beat down._

Through the binoculars, he watched as the muscular boy hefted the scrawny geek over his head and tossed him into the Atlantic.

The man's jaw dropped. _Holy shit!_

The soaking wet geek walked out of the water and joined the other one. They walked off down the beach, probably to find Red.

The mystery man packed up his binoculars and took a swig from his small alcohol-filled canteen. He wiped the sweat from above his lip with the back of his hand. Fresh stubble coated his face which was gruff and weathered from many times out in the field and fist-fights.

Reaching into his bag, he produced a camera. He attached a zoom lens that looked like a telescope on the front of the camera. Placing it on the tripod, he maneuvered it to focus on the area the blasted kids went. He spotted them through the scope, running for the water.

He managed to snap a few shots before they disappeared into the surf. He kept waiting for them to surface, but they never did. _Five minutes_ went by, and the damn heat was finally getting to him. Wiping his forehead he sat back thoroughly baffled. There was something seriously _different _about these kids.

Suddenly his cellphone rang from inside his pocket. He dug it out and answered the call without checking the caller ID. No need. Only one person would be calling him on this phone.

"Yes?" He answered.

The voice on the other end was firm and deep. Slightly gruff. "Have you spotted them?"

"Yeah. They just ran off to the other end of the beach. They hit the water and disappeared. I think they might have drowned, but I'm going to pack up and follow them to confirm it—wait. Hold on."

He saw the redhead appear followed by the other three.

He spoke into the phone again. "Scratch that. They're alive. They came back. They're headed for the trees. Should I follow them and see where they're headed?"

A pause. Deep breathing on the other end. Then. "No. That damned dog might be around. And I know exactly where they're headed."

"I didn't see the mutt when they arrived. Also, I saw a couple things that you might like to hear." The man replied.

"Just head into the position near the docks and wait for further instruction. When you get back, we'll talk about what you've documented."

"Fine. And my money?" He asked licking his lips.

"Successfully transferred into your account."

And with that a soft _click_ cut off the conversation. The man shoved the phone back into his pocket and packed up the camera along with the rest of his gear. A smile on his face.

Shouldering his pack, he lifted his canteen to his lips once more and took a few gulps. What he didn't know was that the red haired girl had looked in his direction at the moment the sun glinted off the canteen before she disappeared into the trees with the boys.

* * *

**(A/N) I thought I'd add one of these like how Kathy did in Virals with the mystery dude talking to Karsten. Sorry if it was a little long. But hello! Cliffhanger! Gotta love these right?! You know the drill! Read&Review! Write you guys soon!**

**-V6**


	5. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! Worked hard on getting this done for you guys to read and enjoy! 2:20am! Here's my DISCLAIMER: I do not own Virals characters, settings, etc. All rights go to Kathy Reichs.**

* * *

Tory's POV:

We were traipsing through the forest of Loggerhead. I was still on tilt about the whole feeling of being watched but I slowly managed to ease it into the back of my mind. I mean, it could have been nothing. An odd after feeling of my flare receding. I tried not to let it bug me.

We had been out here for a good hour or so, with no luck of finding Coop and the rest. We'd trekked all the way to Y-7's Clearing and were ready to throw in the towel. We hunkered down and basked in the shade provided by the forest canopy in the clearing. I sat next to Hi and leaned against the thick tree trunk behind us.

A weird sense of déjà-vu passed over me. I turned to Hi and saw he was think the same thing. The day Y-7 nailed me with a gumball fruit right here in this clearing. I realized I was tempting fate because I was sitting in the exact same spot with Hiram. He looked me in the eye.

"If a crazy, possibly rabid monkey starts pegging us with gumballs—I'm high-tailing it to the boat with or without you. I've given you fair warning, so don't complain to _me_ if you get left behind." He said it in such a serious manner, I cracked up. I couldn't help it. The words 'serious' and 'Hiram' will never be found in the same sentence. It's not possible.

It didn't take long before we were both howling. He scanned the tree tops.

"I think we're all clear." He said.

_Thwack!_ Something hammered Hi in the back of the head.

"Ow!" He reached down and picked up a...gumball. Hi's eyes widened.

"Holy shit!" He breathed. The next second he was on his feet running. I don't think I've ever seen him run that fast in my life.

"Run for it!" He screamed, arms flailing as he ran for _Sewee_. Guess he was serious.

Behind me I heard bouts of laughter. Turning I saw Ben guffawing and Shelton doing monkey impressions in between his sporatic bursts of laughter. I tried to scowl at them but it was kind of hard when I was snickering too.

"Guys—" My voice broke as a giggle escaped. "Guys! That was not funny!"

"That's _so_ convincing, Chuckles!" Shelton rolled his eyes, which had started to water.

Ben snorted. "Did you see him run?! Woo! Way to go Thick Burger!"

I heard the cracking of undergrowth. A bush rustled and out came Hi looking red. From either embarrassment or running too hard, I couldn't tell.

"Not _funny_!" He seethed, wiping his forehead of sweat. "You nearly put me into cardiac arrest!"

Shelton laughed. "Over exerted yourself, huh? Well looks like you got your cardio for the week."

"Yippee!" Hi said sarcastically. "Seriously, don't do that. That whole memory scares the living Hell out of me!"

Shelton laughed shaking his head. Ben smirked clapping him on the back.

"C'mon, let's go to LIRI. I want to say hi to my dad, and I have to pick up some package from him." Shelton said.

I paled. Uh-oh. I watched the boys turn and start to head in LIRI's direction. I stayed where I was, chewing my lip. Ben turned around.

"Well?" He looked at me funny. "You coming or what?"

"Uh—well... I kind of can't." I said.

Hi turned around and raised an eyebrow. "You 'kind of can't'."—air quotes—" And what's that supposed to mean?"

All three were looking at me. I huffed but gave in.

"I'm still technically grounded. Kit never said I was specifically house bound, but he never said I was free to wander either." I shrugged sheepishly.

"So if you go parading your sneaky ass around LIRI and get caught, we won't be seeing your face for probably six weeks." Hi summed up.

I nodded. "Pretty much. Not to mention Kit will be less than pleased I'm out here alone with you guys."

"Why so?" Shelton.

I realized what I'd said and was a little hesitant to tell them Kit's opinion of me hanging around them. But once again, I gave in.

"Kit isn't quite on board about my only company being boys. He doesn't outwardly state it like Whitney, but it's been expressed subtly before. Other than your gender, he has nothing against you."

They stared at me, then held up their hands in defeat.

"I am what I am." Hi said.

"Ditto." Shelton agreed.

Ben silently gestured to himself giving me the 'whatcha-gonna-do' look.

I laughed. " So _men_. The plan is to not get caught."

"You, _girly_, are playing with fire." Hi pointed an accusing finger at me.

I shrugged. "When am I not?"

Hi pondered that for a moment. "Touché. Okay, let's go."

So we walked through the greenery until we came to the LIRI gates. I suddenly lost my courage to just waltz into LIRI.

Security had been jacked up since Kit became Director. There was now a check point at the main gate with security cameras and guards. The whole nine yards. There wasn't a snowball's chance in _Hell_ I'd get in without Kit noticing or being notified of my presence.

The boys seemed to realize this too. They each shot me a nerves look.

"There's no way I'm getting through here guys. My jig is up!"

"Back entrance?" Hi suggested.

"There's still cameras." Shelton pushed his lasses up. "I've got nothing. Sorry, Tor."

"You know what. Screw it. I'll just wait here for you guys. I don't mind."

"I'll stay too. I've got no reason to be here." To my surprise it was Ben who spoke up.

Hi and Shelton shared a look, then Shelton nodded. "Alright. Hi and I will be back in five minutes."

They waded through the gates and check points then crossed the compound, disappearing through the doors of Building One.

"Thanks." I said.

Ben looked at me. "No problem."

After that it was silence. I turned to my thoughts. One in particular. A chill ran down my spine. I glanced over my shoulder but saw nothing.

I thought back to the beach. Thinking about it now, I thought maybe I saw a glint of something. Down the beach by a pile of rocks. Could someone have been hiding behind it, spying on us. They would have been concealed, even from the water which we had been under for five minutes. That would be enough time to sneak up and set up a scouting position. We'd never know being under water.

My mind wandered and became distracted by other thoughts. Thoughts I couldn't, for the life of me, understand why I was thinking them.

I recalled what had happened with my underwater telepathy. The thought of Ben being cute had suddenly popped into my head.

Now, there was no denying that Ben was very attractive, but I'd always thought of him as a brother. I mean, sure I liked Ben, but again, as a brother/friend relationship. Besides there was no way moody Mr. Blue would like me. Right? Plus, we were pack mates, it wouldn't work out. Too complicated.

At some point I looked over at Ben. He was his usual stoic self. Leaning his back against a tree, tanned arms folded over his chest. His dark eyes staring off to the side, black hair tousled by the slight breeze. Suddenly my mind's voice decided it needed to add in there: _You don't have a very large pond to fish in, you know. And that undeniably attractive boy could be a very real option. _

That got me thinking.

What if Ben was considered an opti—

_No. Stop right there, Tory_, I was back in control and scolded myself. Why the Hell was I having these thoughts. Ben was and always will be a _friend_. A brotherly figure. I shook my head.

A few minutes later I spotted Shelton and Hi walking across the compound, through the gates. A white envelope with FedEx printed on one side was tucked under Shelton's arm.

Shelton walked up and looked at the envelope. Curious. "Well, I'm supposed to mail this after mom signs this form."

He lifted the flap and pulled out a thin booklet with bare lines breaking the flow of endless words every now and then.

He slid it back in and motioned for us to go. I spun around and took one step forward before being tackled in a furry hug.

I smiled as a pink tongue ran across my face. Coop's head was cocked to the side, his blue eyes staring at me. He had one ear lifted to the air, the other flattened to the side. I could've sworn I saw amusement on his fuzzy snout.

I laughed and pushed him off. From behind him Whisper emerged with her mate, Polo, at her side. Buster, Coop's older brother, burst from the bushes and tackled Coop. They started rolling around in the grass, wrestling like wolf siblings do. Taking bites at the others ear, leaping on each other's back.

The guys and I laughed as Coop pinned Buster to the ground and licked him between the eyes. Buster didn't seem to like that too much and yelped in protest.

Whisper barked once and Coop backed off. He walked to his mother who gave him an approving nudge.

Hi looked at Buster, who still laid in the grass, an snickered. "Well, Buster, that's what you get for unfairly tackling my boy, Coop!"

I chuckled. Buster stood up and hesitantly looked at me as Coop trotted over and sat at my side. Taking this as an 'all clear' sign he walked up in front of me. I bent down and rubbed his head. He seemed to really like that and rolled over on his back.

Lots of belly rubs, and ear scratches later, the pack walked off to the feeding station along the fence. We headed back to _Sewee_. We were almost at the tree line when I felt fur on my leg and saw Coop had joined us again.

Hitting the open beach near the docks, I looked around. I didn't see anything. Hi noticed my behavior.

"Are you okay? You're acting jumpier than me when I've been caffeinated on a Double Espresso."

"Nice." I started. "But I don't know. When we left the beach after our swim, I got this weird feeling, like we were being watched."

"So that's why you looked so distracted." Shelton's face flashed with realization.

I nodded.

"So, you think someone was watching us on the beach?" Hi questioned.

"I honestly don't know. I thought I saw a lint of something over there by those rocks." I said pointing to the cluster that was barely visible from here.

I was staring hard at the rock pile when I caught sight of Coop.

"What's the mutt looking at?" Ben asked pointing at the wolfdog.

Coop stood, ears alert, staring steadfast at a clump of bushes growing a few yards back from the docks, set in behind a few trees.

A chill ran down my spine again. I squinted at the greenery but couldn't make out any kind of shape. I looked back down at Cooper but the wolfdog had returned to normal. As if he'd never noticed the bushes at all.

I took a shaky breath. "Let's go home. I'm getting kind of hungry."

Total lie. If anything, I felt sick to my stomach. As if a pair of icy hands had reached inside and grabbed my stomach, twisting it into a knot.

Hi, who had also been watching the tree line looked at me a minute, and nodded slowly.

We briskly strode back to _Sewee_ and climbed in. In no time Ben was steering us back to Morris. I hugged Coop close the whole time, that feeling was still there. Like a pair of eyes was boring into our backs, watching our every move back to Morris.

I felt like I was standing on a high wire, and this time there was no pushing the unease away.

**Scary, I know! Well I hope you guys like it. Sorry about the wait. Also I'd like to make a few shout outs. I honestly love reading your guys reviews and I do little happy dances when I get reviews that say you absolutely loved my new chapter. Legit. And I totally welcome constructive criticism. Just not flames. I haven't gotten any yet but I'm just saying. I get it if you don't like my story. You're free to feel that way. But instead of ridiculing me when you know I'm not going to redo the whole damn thing just to please you, just don't read it. Save yourself and me the headache. **

**But anyway, I'd like to say a big thank you to some authors in particular who have continually supported my stories lately. So thank you so much to: PeanutbutterWolf, Wolfgirlrocks1, The One You Never Suspected, water wolf 100, and babydrops!**

**I've gotten lots of great praise and helpful suggestions from you guys! I appreciate it a lot! And I haven't forgotten all the others who have reviewed , followed, and favored my stories. So thanks guys! **

**I'll try to update consistently, at least once every week. Okay, write you guys later, and review! Your opinions matter!**

**-V6**


	6. Chapter 5

**Hi guys! I know it's been two weeks and I'm sorry. Crazy busy two weeks. But I've got chapter five for you. Let's bring on the high school drama! Woo! Ok, so DISCLAIMER TIME: I do NOT own and of the Virals characters, settings, etc **_**or**_** Temperance Brennan and Bones. All rights go to Kathy Reichs. **

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Tory's POV:

I was in biology reading through my textbook . Nerves system facts distracting me from the horrible sensation in my stomach. I still couldn't figure out what happened yesterday on Loggerhead. The sudden unease.

I looked up and snuck a peek at Ben sitting a few desks away. He seemed to be glaring at someone across the room. I looked and saw Jason giving the glare right back. I huffed, agitated.

Just like last year, they had combined the grade above with the younger students. Fortunately, that meant Ben was in my class so I had a friend. Unfortunately, so was Jason.

It's not that I didn't like Jason. Quite the opposite really. He was very kind, funny, and a sweet guy. So different from the other stuck up rich brats at Bolton. But Jason did have one little characteristic that drove me nuts; he was too clingy.

He had made it quite clear that he had a crush on me. But I couldn't return the feelings. Yes Jason was attractive with his golden blonde hair, sparkling blue eyes, and tanned athletic build. He could've been a Norse god. Plus dating him would rocket me to a much higher position on the hierarchy of the school, but Jason just wasn't my type. It felt wrong, but I'd never had the heart to tell him I didn't share the feelings of interest.

Ben was Jason's polar opposite in both appearance and personality. But I doubted that was the reason why they hated each other. Every time they were put in close proximity of the other, the atmosphere became charged with such an overpowering and choking tension. And yet I couldn't figure out why!

A sudden _thunk_ broke my thoughts. I turned to see Ben sitting down next to me.

"Hey," he grumbled. I smiled at him, which seemed to make him relax a bit.

"Hey. Did you need help with something?" I teased. Ben wasn't the greatest at bio. He gave me a pointed look but pushed his book between us. I snickered under my breath and began going through the material with him.

The bell rang signaling the end of the day. Ben and I packed up as the teacher assigned some project on the neurological functions of wolf brains.

We wove through the hallways, dodging jocks and popular asses and other rich snobs. We managed to get outside where we found Hi and Shelton waiting by the lions at the front of the building.

"Finally! We can ditch Alcatraz and get outta here!" Hi exclaimed.

"Shut up Hiram. But seriously, what took you so long?" Shelton asked.

"Mrs. Fintari assigned a bio project. And the hallways are a killer to get through at the final bell." I said.

"You can do that project with a partner if you chose to." Ben stated. He was staring at me expectantly.

I looked at him a smile forming. "Yeah. I know."

Ben rolled his eyes. "And it's on _wolves_. So..."

"So.." I was enjoying this.

"Oh God, Tory! Do you want to work with me on it?" Ben threw his hands in the air, exasperated.

Shelton cracked a smile while Hi snickered not so discreetly. I was doing my best to stifle a laugh as Ben scowled, stuffing his hands in his pockets and began walking away from us.

"Hey! Get back here, Blue! I never said no!" I said, running to catch up. He turned around. "Yeah, I'll work with you. Wanna start when we get home?"

His eyes lit up. "Yeah. My dad won't be home for a few hours."

I nodded. Boarding _Hugo_ we all found seats up front. Hi and Shelton occupied one bench while I sat with Ben in front of them. The ride back to Morris was silent, but it was a comfortable silence. Suddenly the cold feeling returned and I felt like I was in a vice. The sparkling blue Atlantic continued to rush past. To me, it was practically a dead grey.

_Hugo_ docked next to _Sewee_, Ben's sixteen-foot Boston Whaler runabout, bobbing in the waves crashing against the pier. We hopped off, thanking Mr. Blue and headed for our respective houses. Although neither of us made it past the commons.

Parked outside my house was a police cruiser.

"Damn! Looks like the law finally caught up with you, Tor! You had better not drag me down with you!" Hi's face was a mask of amusement, but I saw the fear flash in his chestnut brown eyes.

"C'mon. Let's go find out what I did." I said. Walking to my house, the pit in my stomach becoming deeper.

I opened the front door and lead the way to the living room. There stood my father, Kit, and a policeman. The cop looked young, probably mid-twenties, and was handsome with his salt and pepper hair. He had fine wisps of stubble growing on his chin and his eyes were a pale green. He was tanned and stood half an inch shorter than Kit.

Hearing our arrival, Kit turned and greeted us. "Tory, you're home. Boys," Kit gave them a nod. "Uh, honey? I'd like to introduce you to Officer Landren."

The police officer, Landren, smiled a bright, friendly smile. "Hello, Miss Brennan. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Adam Landren, new to the force here in Charleston. Just got transferred from the Big Apple." He extended his hand which I shook, smiling in turn.

"It's nice to meet you, Officer Landren. And welcome to Charleston. These are my friends," I said, gesturing to the boys. Pointing to them one by one as I gave names. "Shelton Devers, Hiram Stolowitski, and Benjamin Blue."

The guys shook Adam's hand and gave polite nods, 'heys' and smiles. I turned back to Kit. I noticed he had stress lines on his forehead and his eyes held fatigue from information overload. Something was up, and I intended to find out.

"So, what's going on?" I asked.

Kit cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Ah, well... It would seem as though LIRI had another break-in."

My jaw dropped. I knew the boys' faces mirrored mine. The last time this happened, a whole bunch of high-tech equipment was stolen and it turned out to be one of the mechanics at LIRI. Secretly, I hoped this break-in was some serious chiz, because Kit might call in my great-aunt Temperance Brennan again!

I pushed the thought aside. I knew it was wrong to wish something like that but aunt Temp was my idol! It was my goal in life to become a forensic anthropologist like her someday.

Kit took in my shocked expression and took on a look of guilt. Clearly there was more, and based on the way he was acting I wasn't going to like it.

"That's not all." He sighed. "There is evidence supporting the possibility of a murder as well. LIRI has been cordoned off for police investigation. I've called your aunt Temp to come down again and help the investigation effort."

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**HAHA! Yeah, I so totally wanted to add Temp! I hope you guys like this idea! I'm sorry it was so short, but I'll make them longer in the future unless shortness is needed. By the way, if you have no idea what I'm talking about when I mentioned the first break in and Temp, then you haven't read 'Shift', Kathy Reich's new short story. It's an eBook and you can download it on a Kobo, or you can buy it in the iBook store through Apple. I urge you to read it! It's so awesome and it's written in all the Virals' POVs! Anyway, thought I'd let you know. So please read and review! I means so much to me to get your thoughts and opinions! Thanks guys!**

**-V6 **


	7. Chapter 6

**I'm back! Hope you guys are liking the story. I'm sorry updates take so long. It takes a while to write these chapters, plus I've been giving my writers block a real good fight! And I like to give my story some time so you can review. Really, I LOVE it when you review because then I know if you guys are enjoying the story and that makes me as a writer excited. I know I'm doing something right! So please, please, please review! Alright, DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Virals or Bones characters, settings, etc. The rights to both series are Kathy Reichs'.**

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Tory's POV:

I couldn't move.

Couldn't think.

I was shocked.

Angry, worried, surprised, scared.

But most of all shocked.

I finally managed to pull myself together and go over what Kit had just told me.

LIRI had just had another break in. Great-aunt Temp was coming to investigate because this time we weren't playing a friendly game of 'Whodunit?'. This time, we had the possibility of a murder on our hands.

A new fire burned through me and determination set in. I locked eyes with Kit.

"What proof is there to conclude there might have been a murder?" I asked. Completely serious.

"Well, we aren't really supposed to give out information like this to just anyone, much less children. But," Officer Landren said, meeting my eyes. A small mischievous smile crossed his face. "I'll make an exception just this once. While investigating further into the building, fellow officers found—um, blood...spatters along the wall. Leading to one of the labs."

Adam stopped, looking at Kit. I noticed the man of the hour was shifting his weight nervously. For a second I eyed him, confused. Then a cold feeling swept over me, turning my blood to ice. I involuntarily shuttered. My throat started to constrict as a thought passed through my mind. I knew the other Virals were no different.

Somehow I managed to swallow the suffocating lump in my throat and croaked, "Which lab?"

Kit pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "It's unclear as to why, but Lab Six."

I thought I was going to be sick. But, right now I had to hold my stomach and be strong. I needed to get as much information as I could to piece the facts together, and set a starting line.

"Was anything stolen from the lab? Did they even gain access?" I questioned.

Adam shook his head. "No the officers—with help from staff members—confirmed everything was accounted for. Although, the place was trashed and they managed to knock out the security system shutting down the cameras. We don't know what they were looking for but they did a good job of not leaving any discriminating evidence behind."

_Yeah, we'll see about that_, I thought bitterly.

Immediately my mind was reeling. Trying to formulate a solid strategy to get into LIRI and do some investigating of our own. But first I needed to confirm a few things.

"Are there policemen watching the lab now? Is it being monitored?" I asked.

Landren frowned." Unfortunately, the police force doesn't have enough men to spare doing nightshifts. The only people monitoring LIRI is the security personal you already have."

"A lot of good that's been." Kit muttered.

"You don't think whoever did this might try again?" For the first time since Kit dropped the crime bomb, Hi spoke up.

Adam's face tuned doubtful. "He'd be mighty stupid to try, son. Criminals may commit stupid acts, kid but they're smart enough not to go to the same place twice. Especially not when the crime is still fresh."

"But what if he does?" Shelton now.

Adam smiled dryly. "Trust me. He won't." He looked down at his watch. "Well, I ought to be going. I'll be needed down at the station. I'm sorry about this whole thing."

Kit lead him to the door. "No, that's quite alright. Your people are doing everything they can, and my sister should be coming down soon. Thanks again."

"Not a problem, Mr. Howard." Landren turned to me. "Take care of yourself, kiddo."

With that he marched back to his cruiser and was soon disappearing down the road.

We stayed quiet for some time taking in what just happened. Kit was laying in a recliner, staring aimlessly out the living room window.

"I'm sorry you had to come home to that, sweetheart." He finally said.

"That's alright, Kit. Hey, listen. I'm going to go over to Ben's for a bit. We have a project we need to do."

Ben spoke from behind me. "It might take a while, so Tory is welcome to stay for dinner."

I turned to Ben. His eyes locked with mine and he seemed to know we weren't going to be working too much on this project today. I silently thanked him for playing along and he nodded.

Kit studied both of us carefully. He seemed to come to a decision, because he nodded his head. "As long as Tom's okay with you staying. I'm alright with it."

I smiled. "Thanks, Kit."

I looked back at the boys. "I'm going to change quick then I'll be over Ben. Hi, Shelton, you guys are free to go. I'll text you later."

Three nods. Then they left.

I raced upstairs into my room. Pulling out a pair of white short-shorts and a grey T-shirt, I threw the clothes on leaving my uniform on my bed. I shoved my phone in my pocket, laced up my converse, and snatched my sunglasses from my dresser on my way out.

I hurried out the door and across the commons, turning right and heading four houses down. Ben's townhouse was father away from mine. He lived a couple houses from Shelton who was the farthest from all of us. Hi lived next to me.

Knocking on the door I waited a few seconds before it swung open, revealing Ben. He stepped back and gestured me inside.

To be honest, I'd never been in Ben's house before. Sure we'd known each other for a year but we had never hung out together alone before. I suddenly felt shy and nervous while looking around the foyer.

"So," Ben leaned against the door frame leading to the living room. "My room or the living room?"

I shrugged. "Up to you. It's your house."

He smirked at that. "Well, obviously you'll want a computer to get on iFollow. My room it is."

He lead the way up the stairs. I noticed the layout of his house was different from mine. His kitchen and living area was on the main floor, second was bedrooms, third was what Ben and his dad called the den, and the fourth was a loft or storage area.

I followed Ben down the hallway until he stopped outside a closed door. It was dark wood with a smooth finish, much like the other doors in the house.

He opened it and walked inside. Suddenly I felt my face heat up and I became embarrassed about being in Ben's room. Being in a _boy's_ room.

I took in the sight before me. Ben was a surprisingly neat person. I had a feeling Shelton and Hi could take notes from him. His bed, a dark wooded frame with light blue sheets and a black and grey comforter, was placed next to a black side table occupying the space beneath the window to my left. Dark blue curtains framed the window and I noticed it had a slight view of the ocean cutting through a few trees. Along the smoky-blue walls were some boating posters, and surprisingly some band posters.

Across from his bed was his dresser. It was almost bare, except for a picture of him and his mom, a lamp, and stack of boating and outdoor magazines. He closet was next to the door.

At the end of his room, directly across from me was another window with a forest view. Under it was his desk. This had to be the only part of the room that was cluttered. A computer sat in the middle with a lamp to the right; a pencil holder to the left. A note book was next to a pile of textbooks at the edge and a plate with what looked like had been pizza at the opposite edge.

"So are we actually going to work on this project or are we planning our latest felony?" Ben's voice dripping with amusement.

Thank the Lord my blush went away. Unfortunately, I stuttered. " I—uh, yeah. W-we'll work on the project b-but I wanted to talk about the LIRI-I too."

_Ugh! What is _wrong_ with me_?! I looked anywhere but at Ben.

"Okay." He said slowly. Shit. He gestured to the bed. "Make yourself comfy."

I felt uncomfortable again as I sat down on his bed. He walked over to the desk and fidgeted with the laptop. I caught myself staring at him as he did it. I shook my head annoyed.

He came back over with the laptop and sat next to me. He turned his head smirking.

"iFollow?"

"Uh" I blushed.

His faced shifted to a frown. "Tory? Are you alright? You seem...off. Kind of flushed."

"No, I'm fine." I kept my voice calm and even.

I didn't think he believed me though. Hell, _I_ didn't believe me. Whatever, I could worry about the state of my mental health later. We had work to do.

"Alright." He turned the screen which was showing a map with three red dots on it. Hi and Shelton were at home. He tapped 'video chat' and we waited for the other Virals to show.

He shifted closer to me, placing the screen between us. I tried to ignore the fact that my stomach just flipped.

Hi and Shelton's faces filled the screen as it split into thirds. Shelton was fiddling with some wires, and Hi had an X-box controller in one hand, a can of Coke in the other.

"Hey, guys. Great timing by the way. I was only getting my ass kicked in Halo. No biggie." Hi shrugged, a look of indifference on his face.

I shot him a look. "Gee, sorry. I was just worrying about the break-in/murder going on at Loggerhead. But please, don't let that stop you from shooting virtual soldiers."

Hi shrunk in his chair. Shelton was snickering silently.

"Anyway," I rolled my eyes. "I think we need to check it out."

Three groans met my words. Two from the screen, the other beside me.

I looked at Ben. "Oh, like you didn't see that coming. C'mon guys, we really need to get in there. You heard which lab it was. Six!"

The last word hung in the air. We understood exactly what the break-in meant.

"You think someone was looking for Karsten's experiment files?" Shelton.

"Well, let's go over what we know, shall we?" Hi began ticking points off on his fingers. "They shut down the security cameras. Broke in and went straight for Lab Six. They may have killed someone in the process. What else would they want with marine veterinary research institution on a practically deserted island?"

"So now the question is who wanted it. How did they know about it? And why did they want it.?" I mused

"It doesn't make sense. We locked Hollis up good 'n tight! His jig is up! Why would he want those files still? And didn't Karsten destroy them?" Shelton was tugging his earlobe double-time.

"Obviously he didn't." Ben scowled. "And if you had information that could be held against you like that, wouldn't you try to get it back?"

"Alright point taken. But what about the supposed murder? I doubt it was ketchup squirted across the wall for laughs and giggles!" Hi. Sarcasm.

Shelton clutched his stomach. "Dude, you just put me off ketchup for the next month!"

"I don't know what to think about that." I said. I couldn't help remembering what happened on Loggerhead yesterday. "But we _are_ going to LIRI. Tomorrow night we meet behind me house and head to the docks. Shelton bring your lock-pick set. Hi, print out a layout and floor plan of the LIRI. I want to map out easy access points."

Neither looked pleased but agreed.

"Alright. We'll continue this tomorrow." I said and waved goodbye before exiting the chat.

"Want to do that project now?" I looked at Ben. He nodded.

For the next three hours Ben and I looked up information about wolf behavior, finding why they did certain things for neurological reasons.

I did end up staying for dinner and all the awkward tension I had when I first got here had left.

When I got home I immediately fell asleep. I was drained from today's events and I knew tomorrow was going to be even worse.

I just wish I'd known how much worse.

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**Ok I hope you guys liked this chapter. I did my best to keep the BenxTory natural. I hope I succeeded. Also, I just like to say, that wolf project they're doing; I have no idea if that's even true about the behavior link to neurological functions. I just needed something sciencey to use for a project. So yeah. Anyway, please read and review! It's awesome reading your guys thoughts on the chapters, because it not only makes me feel like it did the chapter right, it also helps me improve where I need to if you guys give me helpful feedback. So again, thanks so much!**

**-V6 **


	8. Chapter 7

**Okay! I'm back! And I've brought a new chapter! Enjoy it, this is where the mystery really starts coming in! WOO! Okay, anyway, DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Virals or Bones characters, settings, etc. All rights go to Kathy Reichs. Temp will be coming in soon, next chapter, I think. I hope you're all excited. Also heads up, There is going to be a POV change in the chapter between all the Virals. I might do more chapters with POV swaps, but the story will mainly be told in Tory's POV. Okay, enjoy!**

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Tory's POV:

I crouched down on the small hill that lead down to the compound's chain-link fence. Hi, Shelton and Ben backing me as we hid in the shadows.

"Well this looks easy enough," Hi said, sarcasm coating every word.

Guards walked the perimeter of the fence, and the two who usually manned the main gate were doing just that. Although there weren't many, they still posed as a challenge being spaced at intervals that left little chance for a clear opening.

The light poles cast long, dark shadows across the ground. Police tape covered the entrance to Building One. Standing outside the doors, keeping guard was David Hudson. A.K.A, the biggest pain in my ass. I noticed Sam and Carl not far off guarding Building Two and the garages.

It looked like a freaking army base!

I took in the scene one last time before turning to my own troops.

"Alright, so I'm think—Hiram, what the Hell is on your head?" I arched an eyebrow.

Hi had pulled out a ski cap and pulled it onto his head. He looked like an honest-to-God burglar. He looked at me smugly and filled his voice with mock-charm.

"The names, Bond. James Bond. And it's a hat, Tor. Camouflage. Like a true MI6 ninja!" Hi jumped into a ninja stance, whipping his head around.

I pinched the bridge of my nose, sighing. "Hiram... Know what? Forget it. Alright, game time."

"Game time?" Shelton asked nervously. "Tory, there is no chance of getting in there. We're toast!"

"Not necessarily. The security system got shut down and they never got it up again." I reasoned.

"Sure, but the gates are still magnetically sealed. They run on a different power source and they're still _guarded_ by live _guards_" Hi shot a pensive look towards the main gate.

I bit my lip, thinking hard, when the roar from an ATV engine came up the rise. I watched as it drove through the gates to Shed Three.

I smiled. "I think I've got an idea."

* * *

Hi's POV:

You know, I have to be honest. I _hate_ Tory's ideas.

The girl was the most stubborn person I've ever met! At times it's one of the many things I love about Tory. Unless she's directing that stubbornness at _me_.

We were walking through the untamed forest of Loggerhead at twelve-forty-five _AM_ on some hunch Tory refuses to tell us about.

"Tory, please. Just tell us what we're doing!" I whined. I really could care less how childish I sounded. I was not being dragged through some forest when I could have been catching some well needed Zs in my bed!

"Oh, Hi! Shut up! I will tell you when I have it all figured out!" Tory sounded irked.

Okay, that got to me.

"You don't even have it all figured out?!" I looked at her in disbelief. In my left peripheral, I saw Shelton roll his eyes.

"Please, Tory—just a hint!" Shelton pleaded.

Tory shook her head. "No. Now walk."

Damn that girl's a beast!

We continued walking, but this time no one questioned Tory. Why bother, she's saved our asses enough times, and she was a tab cranky.

Ten more minutes lead us to a low crest dotted with trees. Below the hill, twenty feet off was the tightly-packed dirt road leading to LIRI, on the other side, more grassy terrain, but less trees than our side. Tire tracks lead off the road and ran through the brush on the opposite side of the trail, across from us.

The four of us knelt down in the grass watching and waiting.

"Alright. What now, Tor?" Ben turned to look at Tory.

A smile worked its way onto the red head's face. Oh shit. We're screwed.

"You see that ATV?" She pointed to the vehicle that made the tracks. It was fifteen yards ahead of us.

"Oh, no!" Shelton shook his head wildly. "Tory, I don't agree with a lot of the things we do, but I'll do them for the pack, you know that. But this isn't about pack, and I refuse to hot wire an AT-freaking -V!"

Her eyes rolled. "No, genius. Do you remember what they use these feeders for? Refilling the monkey feeders, right?"

Us boys nodded, not following this at all. Tory continued, a little impatiently.

"Right, so while we were heading to LIRI, I saw the tracks further back. The monkey feeders are being topped off. Now this feeder is the closest to the LIRI, meaning it's the last one on the run. The bins holding the food are going to be empty." She finished up looking at all of us expectantly.

We weren't biting, which seemed to piss her off. Then something clicked and I pieced it all together.

"Wait. Are suggesting we hide in the bins to sneak through the gates?"

She nodded enthusiastically. I shook my head, but in admiration.

"You're nuts. Truly off your rocker. But I like it." I said, flashing a thumbs up.

"I don't know. It seems risky. What if they check the bins?" Shelton. Ear tugging.

"Well, that's a risk we're just going to have to take. Now c'mon." Tory said standing up. Then turned around again. "We're going to need a little extra help. Flares up, boys."

We all groaned but closed our eyes and concentrated.

I thought of getting caught, a scientist running freaky tests on us, my mother getting angry.

**SNAP!**

I got the wind knocked out of me. It felt like the time Mark Andrews, captain of the football team, tackled me. Yeah that was not fun.

The world spun three-sixties and my muscles pinched and tightened. A hot inferno raced through my body. It felt like someone dropped me in a lava washing machine.

Suddenly everything stopped spinning and the feelings passed. When I opened my eyes, my vision flooded with HD clarity. It was awesome!

I looked at my partners in crime. Shelton stared back with golden irises and Tory was scanning the area, her own eyes lowing a brilliant yellow. Ben, as usual, was cussing the world out, muscles tense, trying to flare.

I made solid eye contact with Shelton and Tory. We were silently arguing who was going to do the honors.

Shelton shook his head. He had already done it at the beach a couple days ago. I turned to Tory and had an intense staring competition, which I lost of course.

Sighing, I crept around behind Ben and positioned myself. Sucking in a breath, I reeled my leg back then kicked Ben in the arse so hard he flew forward, collecting a mouthful of leaves.

When I heard him growl I spun around and ran like Hell's demons were on my heels! Which—from my point of view—they were.

I nearly made it too—jumping the hill, I was about to touch the ground, but Ben intercepted me in mid-air with a tackle. We landed on the ground, or more specifically, _I_ landed on the ground. Ben landed on me. Son of a—

"_Never_ do that again!" He hissed next to my ear.

I groaned. "Dude, I think you drove a few ribs into my lungs! Internal bleeding, man! My lawyers are gonna hear about this, Blue!"

"Yeah and I think you drove my tailbone into my throat! Screw the lawyer! I'll take my chances with the charges for attempted murder." He said. He looked ready to drive his fist into my nose.

"Knock it off! No one's killing anyone unless I say so!" Tory said coming down the hill with a smiling Shelton.

Just what the Hell was he smiling about?!

"Are you two okay?" She asked, eyeing both of us.

"Well, I'm gonna need an MRI—"

"Are you going to live, Hiram?" She gave me a pointed look.

"Yes," I said looking down. "I'll pull through with a few bruises."

"That's debatable," Ben glared at me.

"Walk, Blue," Tory commanded.

I stayed close to Tory as we moved towards the ATV. Ben was still glaring daggers at the back of my head, but he wouldn't try anything while Tory was there. Thank God.

We made it to the ATV undetected. Crouching in its shadow Shelton inspected the bins. I moved to help him.

"How's it look?" I asked.

"They can definitely fit two of us in each. They don't lock automatically, so we won't get stuck. So unless you're claustrophobic, we'll be fine." Shelton said.

"Okie-dokie! Hey, Tor." I called.

She came over, Ben right behind her. Her eyes were searching the dark forest for anyone coming before landing back on me.

"What's up?" She asked.

"These bins will fit two of us in each. Your plan might just work, Brennan." I held my hand up for a hi-five which she returned smiling.

"Alright, Hi, you and Shelton in the left, and Ben and I will hop into the one on the right." Tory pointed to each.

We all nodded, moving to our assigned bins. Standing in front of mine, I caught a glimpse of Ben, his face looking flushed. Although it was too dark to tell so I let it go.

I laced my fingers together and Shelton stepped onto my make-shift step. I hoisted him up as he opened the lid and swung himself over the edge of the bin. Once he was in he reached out a hand and pulled me over the side, where I fell not so gracefully on top of him.

"Thanks, dude!" I flashed a huge grin.

"Yeah. No problemo," Shelton huffed.

We fumbled around awkwardly until we managed comfortable sitting positions.

Shelton sighed. "Well this is fun."

"One day, I will resist Tory's stupid, dumbass ideas." I shook my fist in the air.

"Amen," Shelton said.

* * *

Ben's POV:

After I got my ass kicked—literally—I tackled Hi. I was so close to rearranging his face, when Tory piped up.

"Knock it off! No one's killing anyone unless I say so!" She came up behind us looking ready to bust some heads herself.

I scowled but got off of Hi. When Tor asked if he was going to live, the idiot started with the comedy routine. I rolled my eyes at the MRI comment and it seemed to piss Tory off too.

"Are you going to live, Hiram?" Tory was giving him a look.

Thick Burger looked down, clearly intimidated. Tory's got some scary looks.

"Yes, I'll pull through with a few bruises." He muttered.

"That's debatable," I growled, shooting him my usual glare. It quickly got wiped off when Tory turned on me.

"Walk, Blue," She said, voice like steel.

I silently followed Tory and a cowering Hi towards the vehicle. Shelton walked beside me, but at a distance, knowing full well I was still livid. And sore.

When we got to the ATV, we hid in the shadows so as not to be noticed. Hi and Shelton were looking over the bins in the back of the ATV while I stayed with Tory.

I glanced over at her and noticed, not for the first time, that her eyebrows scrunched in concentration while she chewed her bottom lip. Her irises blazed as they darted around, looking for any sign of trouble.

There was a slight shine on her forehead from sweat, but who wouldn't be sweating out here in long clothing. Despite this she still looked good. Not that she doesn't look good on a regular basis, she just looked more... stunning when committing a felony.

_What? You idiot!_ I cursed myself. That sounded so stupid! _Just focus on what you've got to do, Blue. Focus._

I looked back up at Tory and noticed she was looking at me. I tried not to look flustered. I managed to keep eye contact with her. Her gaze silently asked if I was okay.

I nodded and looked down. God! What was she _doing_ to me?

Thankfully I was saved by Hi calling Tory over. I followed behind her to where the other two sat.

"What's up?" She asked.

"These bins will fit two of us in each. Your plan might just work, Brennan." Hi hi-fived Tory as they grinned at each other.

I tried not to let it get to me. Hi was Tory's friend too so it shouldn't have bothered me.

"Alright, Hi, you and Shelton in the left, and Ben and I will hop into the one on the right," Tory instructed, pointing to each bin.

As Shelton an Hi moved to their assigned hiding spot, my face burned as Tory lead us to ours. I took a deep breath, but kept my head low as I helped her up.

Once she was in, I pulled myself up and into the food container. It didn't take long for me to notice how limited the space was. Oh. Shit.

Tory seemed to notice too. She was biting her lip again.

I suddenly got an idea. I tried really hard to think of something else, but just couldn't.

I closed my eyes, thanking the dark for hiding my flushed skin. I sat down and cleared my throat, looking at Tory. Her eyes still burned gold like mine as they looked at me.

"Um... If you sit," I was having trouble forming my words. Damn it! "uh, between my legs, we'll fit."

Oh, God, this is so embarrassing.

Tory mutely nodded. She turned around and sat between my legs. her back resting on my chest. She leaned her head back on my shoulder and I awkwardly wrapped my arms around her waist.

I could hear her slow breathes, and I just hoped mine wasn't as strained as I thought it was. I prayed she wouldn't feel my heart pounding against my ribcage.

Once again I was saved when the driver finally came back and started the engine. It was a really bumpy ride, which did not help with the situation we were in.

I thought it would never end, but finally we heard voices outside, confirming we were at the main gate.

"You finished up with those feeders, Matt?" A voice who could only be one of the guards asked.

"Yup. I hate this shift, though. Since that break in, the schedule got screwed up. My days have been a bitch." The driver said.

The guard laughed. "Don't sweat it, Matt. Go on in."

"Thanks. Have a good night, James."

"You too."

The truck started to move again. Two minutes later it stopped and the driver got out. He left muttering something about a guy named Eddie helping him unload the bins.

Tory quickly pulled herself up and motioned for me to do me same. Carefully lifting the lid we peered out at where we were.

The driver had pulled up behind Shed Three. The five foot wall separating the shed from Building One was just a few yards away. Beyond that was the rest of the complex.

I silently opened the lid and climbed out, grabbing Tory's waist to steady her as she climbed out after me. With both our feet on the round we swiftly knocked on Hi and Shelton's bin.

The lid opened an the two scrambled out. Hi dusted himself off while Shelton adjusted his glasses. Hi shook his head chuckling.

"I can't believe that worked. LIRI's got to up their game." Hi and Shelton snorted.

"C'mon, we've got to move!" Tory whispered.

We bolted to the wall and jumped it, flares burning. I was impressed we had held them this long. But I knew that good fortune wouldn't last forever.

Running after Tory, we stopped at the corner of Building One. Looking around it, standing in plain sight was Hudson. If there was one person I could go my whole life without, it was Hudson. He definitely pissed me off.

How the Hell were we going to get passed him.

* * *

Tory's POV:

Hudson.

I mentally groaned. Of all the people to guard the front entrance, why him?

We needed access to the back entrance. But that was on the other side of Building One, and the only way to it was around Hudson. The other way was blocked by the sheds.

I quickly took in the area. No guards were around here except for Hudson and Carl who was guarding the front of the shed area. Although, no offense to Carl, but he was as dumb as a fence post. Hardly anything to worry about.

Looking to my right, I saw good sized rock. I smiled and picked it up. I didn't trust my arm so I turned to Ben.

I had pushed my scrambled thoughts about the ride here to the back of my mind. It was entirely awkward to say the least, but I'd deal with what happened later. I had bigger fish to fry.

"Here," I dropped the rock in Ben's hand. "Throw it over into the bush as a distraction."

Ben gripped the rock and narrowed his eyes, taking aim at the bush I selected. It was across the complex shrouded, half shrouded in shadows. The perfect spot for a perpetrator to hide. It was rooted off to Hudson's right. I was sure the uptight security chief would make a point of checking things out for himself because he apparently "worked with a bunch of bumbling idiots" as he put it.

Ben drew his arm back and chucked the sucker using his enhanced strength. I watched it sail in an arch over Hudson's head and land with a satisfactory snap of broken branches and rustling leaves.

I bit back a laugh as Hudson's head snapped up and he reached for his baton before he lumbered over to the suspicious bush.

I made sure no one was coming before I ushered my pack towards the other side of the building. We rounded the corner in a flash and ducked into the shadows surrounding the back entrance door. We looked back over our shoulders, Hudson had looked up from his bush feeling the slight breeze we created when we whizzed past him, but he soon ignored it and went back to frisking the bush. Idiot.

I turned to Shelton who had whipped out his lock pick set and was already jimmying the lock. In less than ten seconds he had the sucker popped open.

I herded the guys inside quickly. I slunk over to Ben's side.

"Nice throw," I said patting his shoulder.

His shoulders tensed. I pulled my hand back, startled and a little worried I pushed a boundary.

I shook it off, continuing to walk after Hi and Shelton. I sensed Ben following behind me. We wandered to the stairs not wanting to risk the elevator. Our feet silently thumped up the steps heading for Lab Six.

As we raced down the dark hallways getting closer to our objective, as familiar scent wafted in my flare-sensitive nose. It was metallic and made my eyes water. I rounded the corner, finding the light switch, flooding the hallway in florescent light.

I nearly shrieked.

Spattered along the wall was a listening crimson ooze.

Thinner layers of the blood had already dried to a rusty brown. It didn't make it any nicer to look at. Behind me Shelton squeaked.

"My God!" Hi gasped.

"Damn," Ben muttered. His voice was tense.

I took a shaky breathe. "Let's keep going."

My eyes never left the red-stained wall. I did a quick inspection. The blood closer to the start of the hallway was thick and smeared. As if the victim was stabbed multiple times and used the wall for support. Further down the wall it becomes a splatter. My best guess is that the killer decided to finish the job and shot the unfortunate victim.

I noticed faint red handprints. I tore my gaze away after that.

_Keep it together, Tory. _

We came to Lab Six's door. Trying the handle I found it unlocked. The door slowly swung open revealing the trashed crime scene. I looked around, my golden eyes picked out details around the room.

A filing cabinet was tipped over. Its contents spilled out across the floor. Lab equipment was tipped over, and papers, pens and other supplies was scattered across desks. Cupboards hung open, bottles lay haphazardly on the shelves.

The metallic smell hit me again and looking at the floor I noticed red footprints. I followed them cautiously towards the quarantined box that held Cooper six months ago. His clipboard was missing but I suspected Karsten had removed it before his accident.

Fingerprints were left on the medicine pantry next to the plexi-glass box. I quickly looked around for latex gloves. Finding some I slipped them on and carried on with my investigation.

I checked the pantry. Pill bottles in disarray, but nothing eye-catching for crime evidence.

Moving away from the cabinet I followed the prints to a desk with a computer on it. I inspecting the keyboard I found remnants of blood.

_Bingo!_

Thank God for latex gloves.

Booting the monitor to life, it showed a log in screen.

I cursed under my breath.

"Shelton," I hissed. "I need your hacking skills."

I seconds Shelton was a my side, snapping on his own pair of gloves and fingers flying over the keys.

"I can bypass the firewall and hack into the server. What exactly am I looking for though?" He asked.

"Check the log and see if there was any resent activity in the lab." I said.

A few more mouse-clicks, then...

"Got it. Hmm..." He said. "There doesn't seem to be anything here. Well nothing concerning the parvo experiment."

"What?" I asked.

"Everything involving the experiment got wiped from the log." He shook his head. "There's absolutely nothing here, and I don't think I can retrieve it. Sorry, Tor."

"Frick!" I bit my lip. Hard.

This was not what I wanted to hear. I swung around to Hi.

"Have you found anything?" I asked him.

"Nada. Either this guy was smart enough to cover his tracks in this mess, or he left without finding what he wanted." Hi was sifting through papers, his hands clad in gloves.

"Covered his tracks my ass! He left bloody footprints!" I growled. "Ben? What about you?"

"Zilch. There's no discriminating evidence whatsoever." He said from the other end of the room. He raised latex-covered hands in surrender.

I sighed. "Keep looking, there's got to be something here."

The guys shared skeptical looks but did as I said. Deep down I knew we weren't going to find anything. I checked my phone.

One-thirty.

_Damn. It._

Fifteen minutes later we were ready to accept defeat. The boys were exhausted. Hi looked dead on his feet. It was two o' clock in the morning and we were empty handed.

I suddenly got a dizzy feeling and grabbed the edge of a counter.

**SNUP!**

I cursed. " Shit. My flares spent."

Looked around and saw Shelton and Hi's die out too. Ben's faded last.

"Damn! How are we going to get out of here?" Ben asked.

"I don't know, but I think we better leave."

We quickly sped to the door, out into the hallway. Hi closed the door like how we found it. We bolted down the hallway, but suddenly stopped.

Shelton wasn't with us. I peered down the hallway, seeing him crouched on front of the spilled blood.

"Shelton, what are you doing?" I whispered anxiously.

Shelton abruptly stood up. Jogged back to us.

He held up a vial containing a sample of the blood.

"Dude, that's just nasty!" Hi jumped away looking green.

"Shelton, what the Hell are you doing with that?" Ben demanded.

"I think this might help." He said.

We didn't have time to argue. Sucking in a breath I clenched my teeth.

"Alright, bring it, but let's go! _Now!_" I started running down the stairs.

Coming up to the last flight, I heard voices approaching. _Guards._

_Damn! Damn! Damn!_

Panic weld up inside me ready to pop like an over-filled balloon.

I held my breath as the guards got closer. Any second now they'd pass the steps. Then one of them stopped.

"Nut's I forgot my keycard at the front desk."

They left, footsteps growing fainter. I exhaled.

Sneaking back to the rear entrance we made a mad dash to the fence. It was clear that climbing it was going to be our only option without our flares.

We scrambled up the chain link, cautiously maneuvering around barbwire, we hopped over and ran towards the trees.

We made it back to _Sewee_, Ben never throttled down until we saw Morris Island.

I snuck back to my room, not bothering to change, and fell onto my bed. I my eyes closed as my head hit pillow.

Tomorrow was going to be a killer.

**I am so, so, so, so, so sorry this took so long. But I managed to get access to Wi-Fi and wrote this super long chapter. Also, I'm sorry I didn't add Shelton, I just couldn't fit him and I didn't really need his POV yet. Next chapter though. Promise. I'm also sorry I couldn't upload more chapters, but it was Hell trying to write this one. I hit a major writers block and couldn't think of anything. But I did it! Hope you like it. I promise I'll get Chapter 8 up ASAP. But for now please read and review guys! I'm really happy about how this turned out! Alright, I'll write you later!**

**-V6**


	9. Chapter 8

**I love you guys! I realized that I really don't thank you enough. I mean, without your reviews, I wouldn't have any motivation to keep writing. It's amazing to hear your feedback; what you like, what you don't, when some of you get really excited over the ToryxBen moments! My favs! But I feel really happy and want to thank you for supporting my story. I've already gotten 12 favs, 18 followers, and 19 reviews in just 7 chapters. (Well 8 chapters if you go by what the site tells you) But thank you so much! I really want to make this one of the best Virals stories I write. So keep the reviews coming and tell me what you think. DISCLAIMER: I do not own Virals or Bones characters, settings, etc all rights for both series belong to Kathy Reichs.**

* * *

Tory's POV:

I knew my morning was going to be crap when I over slept my alarm clock and woke up to Kit pounding on my bedroom door, telling me I was going to be late.

I groaned as I sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

I looked down and realized I had fallen asleep in my stealth clothes from last night.

_Blarg!_

I smelled horrible and quickly stripped of the sweat-dried clothing. I pulled on my robe and shuffled to the bathroom. I started up a shower.

I emerged ten minutes later and dressed in my room. Towel-drying my hair. I didn't even bother trying to fight the knots out of it. I pulled it back into a loose bun and ran out of my room. Back pack slung over my shoulder. Phone in hand.

I grabbed a semi-burnt piece of toast off the stack Kit had made, a granola bar and a red bull out of the fridge.

Mm. Red Bull in the morning. God knows I'd need it.

I mumbled a hurried goodbye to Kit and ran down to the docks, fighting against the wind to keep my skirt down. I doubted the boys would appreciate a view of my panties this morning. I cursed Bolton. Why couldn't they get the girls uniform a pants option!

I shot Tom a half-hearted smile and plopped down next to Ben. He was slumped backward with his arms folded across his chest and head tilted back. His eyes were closed and he seemed at peace with the world.

I popped open my Red Bull and sipped it. Ben slid an eye open, peeked at me. He sighed shaking his head slightly.

"Really? Red Bull in the morning?" He asked.

I gave him a look.

"You don't judge me, I won't judge you."

He chuckled lightly. "You don't happen to have another one do you?"

I laughed triumphantly, but shook my head then passed him my can. He took it and chugged back a few gulps.

"Hey!" I made a grab for my drink. "Not the whole thing, bub! I need that to stay functional today!"

He smirked, handing it back to me. To my satisfaction, it was still pretty full. I took another sip then placed it beside me.

I started thinking about how natural and normal Ben was acting considering last night's events. A warm blush spread across my face. I was _not_ going to think about this right now. Ben wasn't acting weird, so why was I?

My train of thought was shattered by a groaning behind me.

"I smell energy drink," A voice mumbled. Hi sat up, his brown curls in a wild mess. "Where's the Red Bull?" He demanded.

Shelton walked on to _Hugo_ looking exhausted.

"What's that about Red Bull?" He asked groggily.

Before I could react, Hi scooped it up from beside me and slurped it back. Shelton snatched it after, taking his own swig.

"Guess that just turned into the community can," I mumbled.

Hi grabbed the Red Bull back, holding is close to his face.

"My precious," He did a terrible Gollum imitation.

I rolled my eyes as Tom pulled the ferry up to the docks. Oh sweet freedom!

I jumped off ahead of the guys, and started walking towards the school. The boys quickly caught up, Hi stumbling next to me.

"Hey, pick a direction, Hi!" I shoved him up-right.

Hi rubbed his temple. "Dude, if this is what a hangover feels like, I never want to get drunk! I only had three hours sleep last night and I've got a killer headache."

"And yet you drank an energy drink." Shelton countered.

"Shut up, Shelton," Hi grumbled.

Shelton laughed in response. We walked the rest of the way to school in silence. Only the scuffing of our shoes on the sidewalk and the chirping birds broke the silence.

The sun beat down from a clear, blue sky. The warm Charleston air carrying the sweat aroma of flowers from nearby gardens where bees were busy pollinating. On occasion, a car would roll by, toting the morning commuters.

I noticed a mother and her daughter, no more than six years old, walking on the other side of the street. I smiled, remembering my own mother walking me to school when I was that young. But my smile melted into a frown, remembering my mother. It had been a year since the accident, and still it hurt so much to think about her.

I pushed the unhappy thoughts away before the guys could notice and continued walking past stucco houses with lushes green lawns and expensive gates. The neighborhood was beautiful but the people who occupied the homes were the rich and powerful.

Crossing over to the next block, a huge wall covered in vines ran parallel with the side walk. Turning the corner a few yards down, the wall broke open to the entrance driveway of Bolton Prep. The school stood proudly on its large, neatly mowed lawns.

It was built of rough, weathered stone with columns holding up the front arches of the school. Two twin lions sat on pedestals on either side of the front steps. It had a very majestic feel except that only the most stuck-up, spoiled, hoity-toitys went to school here.

And us of course.

Students milled around the property, sitting on benches under trees or in the grass laughing and chatting. Sometimes they would stop mid conversation just to glare at us as we passed. Others hid behind hands whispering, undoubtedly, about us.

I lead my pack up the stairs, into the building. I sighed, giving the guys sympathetic looks before we all branched off to go to our lockers.

Entering my combination, I yanked my locker open, and started dropping textbooks into my book bag. I was about to slam the door shut, but the sound of footsteps coming my way made me stop. I half expected it to be one of the guys, but when I turned around I was met with a flash of blonde waves and bright blue eyes.

I smiled brightly, turning to face Jason. Wonder what he wants.

"Tory!" He called, swerving around a group of passing kids.

I waved, leaning up against the wall waiting for him. He was fumbling with his books as he came to a halt in front of me. A shy smile spread across his face.

"Good morning," He greeted politely.

I rolled my eyes, but was still smiling. "Is it?"

Jason shot a teasing grin. "Rough start?"

"You could say that,"

"Darn. There go my plans of being annoying today."

"Yeah, don't even, Taylor." I bumped his shoulder as I walked down the hallway.

"Hey—wait! Let me carry that," he said, jutting his chin at my bag.

I adjusted the strap on my shoulder. "No, it's fine, Jason. I got it."

He shrugged, adjusting his own load before pushing his free hand into his pocket. "Alright. Well let's go. Don't want to be late for History now, do we?"

"Nope!" And with that I left him in the dust as I raced to my class. He was shocked at first, then he gave a shout of protest and tore after me.

I laughed at Jason sprinting to catch up. Casually leaning against the wall outside the classroom, I waited for him until he slowed to a stop next to me. He was bent over, hands on knees, blowing air.

"Not," gasp, "Fair," gasp, "Brennan!"

Regaining his breath, he straightened and pouted at me. "You cheated! You got a ten second head-start."

"Yeah? And you're the athlete, what's your excuse." I chided.

He scowled at me, accepting defeat, before striding into the History room. I chuckled as I followed behind.

Other students were trickling into the classroom. I grabbed a seat in the middle-left. I saw Jason scan the room then drop into the seat ahead of me. I didn't think much of it, just opened my notebook and pulled out my phone.

Tapping the screen I saw Hi had texted me. I opened the message and read.

**Im bored 2 deth! i hate english!**

My fingers tapped out a quick reply.

**Seriously? U havent been in class 10 mins!**

I stuffed my phone in my lap as the teacher walked in. Mrs. Kimbry started out with asking simple questions such as what we already knew about our history. I listened as best I could, but with a lack of sleep it was hard to focus on her voice.

My eyes were starting to droop when I felt a vibration. My eyes snapped open. Making sure the teacher wasn't looking I checked my phone. Three messages. The first one Hi.

**Yeah! If you need me, you'll find my body being picked at by vultures in the english room. DX**

Classy. The second one was from Ben.

**What did Jack the Giant Meathead want?**

I frowned at this. I could not understand what their problem with each other was.

**Ben, JASON is not a meathead, and he was only saying good morning.**

Lastly, was Jason.

**Hey ;) still awake back there?**

I smiled, shaking my head.

**Yes. Now stop texting me. We're going to get caught!**

I slipped my phone back into my bag unnoticed. I saw Jason look down then turn his head slightly and wink over his shoulder. A warm feeling spread through me and my heart rate quickened.

_What the flip?!_ I thought. _Did he just _wink _at me?!_

Frowning I turned back to the teacher, jotting down notes. The bell finally rang, and I was the first one out of the class. I didn't wait for Jason, still not knowing what to make of that gesture from before.

Up until lunch, my mind was racing and unfocused. Twice I nearly fell asleep and almost got caught daydreaming. By the time the lunch bell rang I was sluggish and confused.

I shuffled into the cafeteria, heading for a table at the back. Hi and Shelton were already there with food sitting in front of them. I plopped down next to Hi, biting into my wrap.

"Hello, Princess!" Hi smiled innocently.

I whacked his shoulder. "'Sup?"

"Well you're bright as a daisy. Morning okay?" Shelton asked.

"Yeah, fine. Totally super—"

"—califragilisticexpialidocious?" Hi sang out. Once again earning a slap. But not by me.

"Ben, I swear to God, these cranial assaults will _not_ go unpunished! Karma is going to bite you in the ass!" Hi glared at the older boy while rubbing his head.

"Yeah, yeah. Suck it up, Hiram." Ben sat down across from me.

"Hey," I said.

He nodded curtly. Not looking me in the eye.

I frowned. Ben was in a mood.

"Okay," I said. "Well, I've got Spanish next then it's Bio. Ben, this is a project work period so we can go over the research we got."

Again, he nodded his head stiffly, but added a grunt this time. I wasn't the only one to notice his attitude. Shelton looked over at him.

"What's up with you, Ben?" He asked staring intently at him.

Ben shifted in his seat, stabbing a noodle in his pasta. "Nothing."

Before I could protest anything, the strong sent of Prada perfume filled the air and someone cleared their throat.

I knew who it was even before I snapped my head up to see them standing next to the table.

Madison Dunkle, flanked by Courtney Holt and Ashley Bodford. The Tripod of Shank.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and instead plastered on a faux sweet smile. No need to poke a bee hive.

"Can we help you, Madison?" I kept my voice calm and sweet.

Madison scrunched her nose up at me. "You? No." She sneered.

Well there's nothing in that saying about throwing rocks at it from a distance.

My eyebrows knit together as I squared my shoulders with her. "Then what do you want?"

My voice was sharp, but she didn't flinch. Instead, she turned away from me and plastered on a flirtatious smile. Directed at Ben.

"I want Benjamin,"

My mouth dropped open as I gaped at her. Since when did Madison give a rat's ass about Ben?

Ashley snickered. "You may want to close your mouth, sweetie. Wouldn't want to catch flies from that island, now, would we?"

"Hey!" Hi snapped.

"Oh, I'm sorry, do you have something to add, Mr. Fashion Disaster?" Ashley's eyes flickered to Hi. "I mean, really. Who wears their jacket inside out?"

Hi closed his mouth, but you could hear his teeth grinding. Shelton had already snapped his plastic fork. Earlobe forgotten at the moment.

I averted my gaze from the sidekicks to Madison, who I noticed was trying and failing to flirt with Ben.

_The hell?_, I thought. _The apocalypse coming already?_

Ben looked more than uncomfortable, but his tone held no evidence of his displeasure.

"No," He shot down yet another of Madison's date requests.

"Aw, c'mon, Benjamin!" She reached out a manicured finger, and I watched in utter shock and horror as she trailed it down his arm! "Just one movie!"

I was feeling green as this wore on, but I held it in as Madison leaned in to Ben. I looked over and noticed Shelton watching with wide eyes. Hi was practically hyperventilating.

Ben shifted, disrupting Madison's caresses. He glared at her. Hard. "My name is _Ben_."

I stifled a laugh. She was losing this battle pathetically. Ben _hates_ his full name.

The grin that spread across Madison's face would have been sweet, except for the malicious undertone.

"You'll come around," She giggled, spinning around and walking away.

Ben snorted when she was out of earshot. "Like hell I will!"

The tension broke as we laughed at Madison's shameful display.

"Man," Hi gasped. "Shit just got real!"

"I'll say," Shelton chuckled, "What happened to the 'island hicks'?"

I shook my head, smiling. "That wasn't Madison,"

"Really? You don't say," Hi dropped his chin on his fist in mock curiosity.

I swatted his arm, but got serious again. "Something's definitely up and I'm going to find out what."

"Please not today, Tory!" Shelton begged. "You already dragged us around LIRI last night. I'm beat!"

"I agree with Shelton," Ben finally spoke up. To say I was surprised would be an understatement.

"As much as that display creeped the shit out of me, I'm not up for finding out why today." Ben said.

Our conversation was ended there. The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Until I got home.

* * *

**I was debating whether or not to end it here or keep going, but I decided to end it here and bring Temp in the next chapter. I know, I'm sorry, but not to worry, Temp is coming. Next chapter for sure. Okay, well you know what to do; Read&Review. Again, thanks to all of you. I know waiting for authors to update sucks and I'm sorry. but school is ridiculous! I've had homework every day since school started! Like, geez! But anyway, I hope you guys are liking the story and I have one more announcement. So I'm sure you all know about the SOPA thing. Well...*enters rant mode***

**What the freakin' hell is up with that?! Are you kidding me?! Look, I don't support copy-write but, I do think fanfiction is different. **

**We're not selling our stories for money or taking away from the author! We're just fans who pass our time and connect with other fans of the same interests through our writing! Why should that be illegal?! **

**We are freely fangirl/boying by writing our own opinionated stories with our favorite characters! I like to think of it as, we're making add-ons or side stories to fill the gaps between each book! Yeah, I'm a pissed off chick!**

***Ends rant***

**Okay... so anyway, moving on. If you guys check out my profile, for all those Percy Jackson fans, I've put up a funny story that happened to me in my civics class. **

**Alright, hope you guys enjoy the chapter and I'll try to get chapter 9 up ASAP. Okie-dokie! Write y'all later!**

**-V6**


	10. EMERGENCY AUTHOR NOTE

** ~ *EMERGENCY AUTHOR NOTE*~**

**Hi guys. I know you hate these and they're a total pain in the ass, but I NEED you to read this. Please. You saw the title. _Emergency_ author note. **

** You are going to hate me for this.**

**Guys. I think I'm going to do a rewrite. yup, you read that correctly. REWRITE. I am really sorry about this, but before I do anything, I want to get your guys opinions on the matter. But before you start typing 'No, it's good! I really like it!' or "Yeah, I do agree. The rewrite is a good idea.' Let me state my reasons for this decision.**

**1) I have goofed up a few things with the characters (minor and major) and it doesn't feel right. So instead of just changing a couple chapters then throwing all of YOU off, it's easier to just rewrite.**

**2) To go along with my first point; I was just reading my _Virals_ book and found that I've made Tory seem very robotic sounding. She doesn't match up to the Kathy's Tory. And I'm not looking to be _exact_, but _accurate_ when portraying her character. And Honestly, if I don't change this and keep letting it slide, I'm not going to develop as an author.**

**3) The romance between Tory and Ben is WAY to forced. Again. I suck at writing this kind of stuff but I've made it a goal to get better. Just cause there's a bump in the road, doesn't mean you give up. You keep going, and if you mess up, you try again. And that's what I've done. In my first story _Beach Boys_, the romance was amateur and cheesy. So I tried again in this story. It was an improvement, but still far from great. It was forced and I noticed—I'm sure you'll agree—I jumped from sweet lovey-dovey moments to back at a stand-still between them. So doing a rewrite is my 'try again'.**

**4) With the characters not quite 'in character', the romance being jumped into too soon and forced, I also noticed, I got straight to the crime far too quickly and it wasn't executed the way I had hoped. So the rewrite, I think you'll agree now, is the best option write now. **

**Now the prologue will stay the same. That turned out great! Then chapter one will be tweaked and so on.**

**I'm honestly sorry guys, but I didn't plan this well at all. I just jumped into it. But I absolutely LOVED getting you reviews and i hope you'll follow A Living Nightmare again when I've got it up and reading much better.**

**So please tell me what you think. If you really don't want me to delete it, then I'll keep going until I decide I've blown it out of the water, but personally, I think the rewrite is the better path to walk.**

**So review, PM me, whatever it takes. Again, I'm sorry.**

******-A very apologetic Virals6SharpShooter**


	11. Author's Note

**Hello. After much consideration, reading the reviews and getting random yet great story ideas pop into my head, I've decided to do a rewrite. Now It's going to take me some time to write this being that I'm trying to make it better, so the version that's up now is going to stay up until I've gotten some of the new chapters written. So feel free to review the story or PM me with your thoughts. Thanks for the support and reviews guys, it's meant a lot to me and hopefully, you'll enjoy the new version even more.**

**-Virals6SharpShooter**


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